In a repeat of the 2013 coalition of opposition forces that coalesced to the All Progressives Congress (APC) which terminated the administration of Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi and the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai have kick-started a movement aimed at ending President Bola Tinubu’s rule in 2027.
This was confirmed by Atiku yesterday who read the text of a press conference addressed by a cross-section of leaders and political stakeholders from across the country, in Abuja to express their opposition to the emergency rule in Rivers States.
Atiku, in response to a question whether the gathering was to kick-start a coalition to oust Tinubu, said emphatically: “Yes.”
Atiku said: “We have come together to address the dangerous and unconstitutional actions taken by President Tinubu, on March 18, 2025 -to wit, the declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State and the illegal suspension of the democratically elected governor, deputy governor, and the state House of Assembly. This action is not only unlawful but also a clear subversion of democracy and imposition of autocratic federal control over a duly elected state government.”
Other opposition leaders present at the press conference included el-Rufai, Yunusa Tanko, who represented Obi; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Peter Ahmeh; and convener of The Alternative, Segun Showunmi, among others.
Among those whose apologies were announced were former governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), and the immediate past National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Adamu, among others.
But dismissing such talks of a coalition as a nullity, the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, said no political gang-up will stop President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Ganduje, in a statement issued yesterday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Enlightenment, Oliver Okpala, reiterated that any northerner interested in contesting in 2027 should suspend such ambition and wait till 2031. He added that the North’s support for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 is unshakable and stands like the rock of Gibraltar.
The statement said: “Tinubu will surely emerge victorious because of his unparallel performance since he assumed office as President. Forget the recent political gatherings and ranting from some politicians who presently do not have any identifiable political base.
“Their gathering from the LP, PDP, SDP and others are people with different political ideologies and selfish political interests that can never agree on any issue politically. The gathering is an assemblage of people with divergent political interests.
No amount of political arrangement or gang up can stop the good people of Nigeria from re-electing Tinubu as President in 2027.”
In the same vein, the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, has declared the Atiku, Obi and el-Rufai coalition against Tinubu as a ‘dead on arrival’ political gambit. Speaking through his media aide, Seyi Olorunsola, Ata emphasised that President Tinubu is on the right trajectory in transforming Nigeria to meet global standards.
He noted that since assuming office in 2023, the President has implemented significant economic and political reforms aimed at stabilising Nigeria’s economy and governance structure. According to the minister, these reforms are already yielding positive results, reinforcing the confidence of Nigerians in Tinubu’s administration.
The minister advised Atiku, Obi, and el-Rufai — whom he described as “three elusive political wanderers”— to wake up from their political slumber, as Nigerians have already found competent leadership under President Tinubu.
He dismissed the opposition’s coalition as a mere gathering of political jobbers who have lost touch with the Nigerian populace and are only seeking relevance, stressing that the country has moved past the era of “trial-and-error” governance, rejecting politicians who lack clear ideology and rely on mere sentiments to garner support.
“I want to re-emphasise that President Tinubu, as a foremost democrat, is fully committed to protecting the constitutionally guaranteed rights of all Nigerians and also encourages constructive criticism and healthy opposition because of their essential role in reinforcing and deepening our democratic framework,” Idris said.
HOWEVER, Nigerians yesterday expressed mixed feelings over the possibility that the ongoing coalition of politicians will be strong enough to unseat President Tinubu in 2027, just as there are concerns that the movement may not be able to form themselves into a viable political party between now and 2027 while others warned that the Federal Government should not underestimate anything, especially when arrowheads of the coalition are coming from the North.
Speaking on the possibility of Atiku, el-Rufai and co-travellers transmuting their coalition into a political party, a legal practitioner, Wahab Olawale, said the Electoral Act 2022 as amended still gives them the opportunity of one year to the election to form a party.
He said: “Formation of political parties by individuals coming under the umbrella of an association is something recognized by the 1999 Constitution. However, achieving this may have to be subjected to the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
“The laws on registration of political association or group as a political party can be particularly found in Part V, Sections 75,77, 78, 79 and 80 as well as Section 227 of the 1999 Constitution which focuses on the prohibition of quasi-military organisations or bodies to be registered as a political party.
“It states that no association shall retain, organise, train, or equip any person or group of persons for the purpose of enabling them to be employed for the use or display of physical force or coercion in promoting any political objective or interest.”
He said that based on the Constitution, “Atiku and co are cleared, it is left for the promoters of the political association to ensure that they are registered by the Electoral Commission “not later than 12 months before a general election in accordance with Section 75 of the Electoral Act.”
Akin Malalolu of Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum is however sceptical about the seriousness of Nigerian politicians, especially with the calibre of President in office, who truly understands the game of power and its usage.
According to him, “As much as Nigerians are looking forward to unseating President Tinubu in 2027, the most important tools to achieve such a feat have not been properly seen amongst those going about and ganging up for an exercise they have no intention of winning.”
He particularly expressed concern about the inordinate presidential ambition of the likes of Atiku and el-Rufai, saying, a coalition that will remove Tinubu must have the wherewithal to lead, consider, lay down, exceed, fund and restrain. These attributes are what could get the people to have a clear understanding of how they will win the political battle ahead. Rhetoric can’t replace actions.
“We have heard of the coalition of such men like Atiku with Bukola Saraki, Fayemi, Rauf Aregbesola, el-Rufai and with some others but there has been no assurances from them so far, that they may not be planning solely to seize powers for themselves and themselves alone. Our leadership forum has not read any clear messages to the electorates through education or telling the populace exactly their aims, objectives and intentions for corruption, insecurity, nepotism, tribalism, inflating contract cost and other heinous crimes. We knew for a fact that some are being tried by the law for embezzlements of monumental proportions.”
He said anyone that would lead the coalition must be clean and decent, must not have issues bothering on terrorism and bigotry.”
But a member of Afenifere, Femi Okurounmu, warned that nobody should underrate any movement now when the Nigerians are going through economic hardship. He pointed out that some of the issues that may give credence to the coalition movement are the prevalent economic hardship, which is already a campaign before the election.
A member of Ohanaeze Ndigo, Goody Uwazurike also dismissed the sentiment of money. He said the movement could agree on the principle money cannot be a challenge even though the Federal Government can as well outspent them.
